You Taught Me The Words
by BaronessBlixen
Summary: AU for 1x20 "Fortysomething": Niles offers to give Daphne a ride so she can meet her girlfriends. It doesn't go as planned and suddenly Niles is faced with te fear of losing Daphne forever.
1. Chapter 1

Goes (completely) AU in 1x20 "Fortysomething"...

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><p>"Thank you so much for giving me a lift, Dr. Crane. Your brother doesn't like it when I use his car. I am still getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road, you know." She giggled. Niles could merely nod; not that he would ever tell her this, but if she asked him, he would take her everywhere, every day. He was beginning to fear she thought of him as mentally slow. So often he couldn't give quick answers when she talked directly at him. Sometimes he just stared. Niles tried to get a grip on himself constantly. It wasn't easy when confronted with Venus herself.<p>

"I need the night out," she went on, apparently realizing Niles was incapable of speaking, "your brother is getting worked up because of his getting older. Asking me if I think of him as old! Do I look that daft to you, Dr. Crane? I bet he is just looking for an excuse to fire me. Luckily your father appreciates me work."

"You're not daft, Daphne. I think you're quite smart. I am the first to admit that my brother can be quite a nuisance."

"I'm so sorry, Dr. Crane. Sometimes I forget you two are brothers." Niles decided to take this as a compliment and couldn't help but smile. It was true too; after all, did his brother appreciate Daphne like he did? Of course not. Not even his father did. Niles was the only Crane man who knew how important Daphne had become to them in this short time. He hardly remembered the time before she entered their lives; his life had been dull, dark and cursed with comfortable routines. No more. He could still go home, to his wife, and bathe himself clean in the safety and innocence his marriage provided. When he was at Frasier's apartment, however, he felt much more alive. And as much as he enjoyed having his brother, even his father, back in his life, he knew it was all because of this woman.

"And I do love your brother. Most of the time anyway." Niles startled when she used that word. Love. He doubted she meant it in any way romantically. Clearly she couldn't fall in love with Frasier, could she? But what if she had a crush on him? Niles gripped the steering wheel tightly; his knuckles turned as white as sheet, as white as his face. He waited for Daphne to continue and tell him that she loved Frasier like she loved their father. Like maybe she loved him, too. She didn't say it. And the question he wanted to ask burnt Niles' tongue.

"You know, darts is a very popular sport in Britain."

"What?" The sudden change of subject threw Niles off and his suspicions worsened. Clearly she didn't want to talk about Frasier and that could only mean one thing… while Daphne talked about darts, Niles couldn't help but imagine this bleak future: Daphne and Frasier would eventually realize their feelings for each other, maybe someone blurted it out, the other would feel confused and before they knew it, they would be a couple. There would be a wedding, there would be children. And Niles would still go home every night to a distant wife, who hardly acknowledged his existence. Deep down he knew that his crush on Daphne had no future. He was a married man. Being around her like this, being her friend was all he would ever get. The mere possibility of his brother receiving Daphne's love almost drove him mad.

"You know?" She asked in a dreamy voice and it was only then that Niles realized he hadn't been listening to her at all.

"Hmm." He merely answered hoping it fit. After all he had no idea what he was agreeing with.

"I hope you giving me a lift is not too inconvenient for you."

"Not at all." It was a detour of about an hour; she didn't need to know that, because he didn't think of it as an inconvenience. For him it was an extra hour he got to spend with her.

"You're always so nice to me, Dr. Crane." Daphne touched his hand and Niles tried not to let his excitement show. "Your wife is a lucky woman." She sighed and took her hand away. Niles felt the loss immediately. And he needed to get it back; he turned to her automatically. All he ever wanted was to look at her, revel in all her beauty that was so mesmerizing to him. The way her hair fell around her shoulders. It always looked a bit messy, Niles thought, but in a way that fit her so well. Her eyes! Such sparkly little drops of heaven where he wanted to hide when life seemed too much to bear. A delicate nose, a luscious mouth… was she speaking to him? Why were her eyes so big all of a sudden?

Niles realized what was happening a moment too late. His head snapped back quickly, yet not fast enough. He saw the lights from the on-coming traffic as they blinded and deafened him. Like a child afraid of the dark he closed his eyes, hoping to shut out the horror that way. He felt the moment of the impact before he drifted off into nothingness.

**tbc**

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	2. Chapter 2

When Niles woke next, he believed it to be an ordinary morning. However, for a moment he was quite uncertain what day it was; he would have to check his calendar. Then he opened his eyes fully and realized where he was. Or rather where he wasn't. This wasn't his bedroom; this wasn't even Maris' bedroom. Niles panicked and he knew he had to get up and see what all of this was about.

It was easy enough to tell that he was in a hospital, he just didn't know why. There was no reason for him to be there. He had a headache, but that clearly couldn't be it. As he looked down, he saw his foot bandaged. Niles stared at it for a moment, because he didn't feel any pain. None whatsoever. Was this a strange dream? Frasier would probably make fun of him. Except that none of it felt like a dream. There was a clock on the wall and he watched the seconds tick by. According to the clock it was shortly after nine a.m. Niles sat up slowly and touched his head, which felt like it was twice its size. If only he could remember what had happened. How long had he been here?

"Niles!" The door opened and his brother and his father walked in. Both wore worried expressions.

"You're awake." His father said and touched his arm. Niles knew how much his father hated hospitals. It was written clearly across his face. The dark look in his eyes gave him chills.

"I am," Niles said slowly, trying out his voice, "but why am I here? What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Frasier asked.

"No!"

"What is the last thing you remember?" Frasier's reluctance to tell him why he was in the hospital scared Niles. His head thudded so violently, he wanted to close his eyes again.

"I don't…", Niles tried to grasp his last memory. There was something; a little flicker that didn't make sense. The last thing he remembered was looking at Daphne.

"Leave him alone, Fras. They said he hit his head." Despite his father's attempts to whisper these words, Niles heard them. That at least explained the headache. But how had he hit his head? He needed to know.

"What did happen?"

"We called Maris," Frasier changed the subject, "but since you weren't in danger of dying, she saw no reason to actually come here."

"Did Maris and I have a fight? Is that how I hit my head?" Niles found he didn't even miss Maris here at his hospital bed. She'd never been particularly caring and his headache was bad enough without her disapproving attitude.

"You were in a car accident." His father finally said.

"Dad! The doctor said we shouldn't say anything." Frasier grumbled.

"And let him wonder what happened?"

"Is… was it my fault?" Something was nagging at him, he just couldn't put his finger on it just yet. He was reaching into the dark and found nothing there. And they didn't even need to answer him because he could read it in their eyes.

"How is the other driver?" Panic took over in Niles' voice.

"Actually you crashed into a street lamp."

"I didn't hurt anyone? Well, that is a relief." Niles took a deep breath to control his heartbeat. His family's silence weighted too heavy to be discarded, though. Another flicker appeared before him: Daphne's hair in the wind. Again, it made no sense. None of this made any sense.

"It' not exactly… Niles, you weren't the only injured party."

_'Dr. Crane! Watch out!' _Daphne's voice echoed in his mind, yet it sounded as if she were standing right here with his brother and his father. Daphne wasn't family, not really, but he was certain she would want to check up on him. But she wasn't here with them. A horrendous idea formed in his mind.

"Where- where is Daphne?" The silence that followed said more than words ever could. And the pain overwhelmed him; returned him to the place of complete and utter oblivion. For a short moment anyway. An explosion followed and it was only heard by him, only seen by his inner eye.

_'Dr. Crane! Watch out!'_ There was her voice again played by his memory. Only this time it was accompanied by a picture. They were both sitting in the car. His eyes were on her and his mind playing tricks on him made Daphne look magnified. He couldn't look away and when he finally did – Niles opened his eyes and stared right into his brother's. For all this time they'd been apart these last few years, the fear in Frasier's own eyes spoke of a deep bond between the two of them. A wave of love overwhelmed Niles, but there was a question he needed to ask. He just needed to know.

"Daphne… is she… did I…?"

"What? No!" His father spoke quickly. "You didn't kill her, geez. She's sleeping."

"She's sleeping?" Niles repeated what he'd just heard mainly because he couldn't believe it.

"Yes, sleeping. She has a concussion. Well, and a broken leg."

"A broken leg? A concussion?"

"You don't have to repeat everything, Niles."

"She is fine? She will be fine?"

"She'll be fine." Frasier told him honestly and even attempted a smile.

"I need to see her." Niles tried to get up. His head protested, but he didn't care. He needed to see her right away. See for himself that she was fine.

"You need to rest." His father tried to push him back down, but Niles was a man with a plan now.

"Dad, I can't rest. I need to see her first."

"Let me at least get a wheelchair." Niles nodded and waited anxiously for his brother to return.

No one stopped them when Frasier wheeled his brother into Daphne's room. He wasn't prepared for what he saw there; they had mentioned the leg, but not the bruises on her face. Red joined purple in a hideous combination around her forehead and on her cheek.

"I did this to her."

"Don't blame yourself, son. It was an accident." Niles kept quiet, because he knew the truth.

"I'd like to be alone with Daphne for a moment."

"Is that a good idea?" Frasier asked.

"Let's go get a coffee, Fras." His brother was reluctant, but eventually followed his father outside. Niles wheeled himself closer to Daphne's bed. Her breathing was even and to his ears it sounded heavenly. She really was fine – if he ignored her leg and the right side of her face. Hesitantly, he took her hand into his. It felt warm and soft against his skin.

"Daphne… I am so sorry. I don't – there are no words to adequately tell you how terrified I am of what has happened. I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you. All of this is my fault. It's because I was – " Niles stopped. He meant to say he was distracted by her beauty, by all of her. Her face, her hair, her eyes and her scent! It felt like putting the blame on her. His thumb gently stroked her hand and he decided that maybe he'd said enough for now. For a while he watched her chest rise and fall evenly; just watched her sleep. Her peacefulness lulled him to sleep as well.

**Tbc**

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	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Thank you all for reading (and reviewing)! Sorry this got so long; I didn't feel like turning it into two chapters.

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><p>"Dr. Crane?" A voice as soft as a summer breeze. Niles mumbled something, unable to fully wake up. Not that he even remembered falling asleep.<p>

"Dr. Crane?" There it was again and this time it was a little louder, a bit more demanding.

"Hm." Niles didn't even open his eyes. He was beginning to wake up; and that meant a truckload of memories. They were out of order, because the first thing he remembered was waking up sometime earlier in that hospital bed. Then there was the accident. Niles thought he could actually feel it in his bones. Feel the impact, feel metal against metal and he and Daphne somewhere in between. Daphne.

"Daphne?" He opened his eyes and turned to see her. To his surprise he was no longer in a wheelchair, but in an actual hospital bed – in Daphne's room!

"You are awake!" She smiled broadly at him. Niles thoughts somersaulted; how could she smile? At him of all people? And wasn't she in any pain? His own headache had turned into this dull throbbing, a constant reminder of what he'd done.

"How did I end up here?"

"Oh, didn't they tell you? We had an accident."

"I know that. I mean here – in this hospital bed. I was in a different room earlier, I was just here to – I came to – to see you." Daphne just stared at him. He didn't blame her, after all he was once again unable to bring across a simple message.

"You were here when I woke up." She finally told him. "How are you, Dr. Crane?" Her question brought tears to his eyes. Here she was injured herself – because of him – and she was worried about him. She was compassion personified.

"I'm fine. How are you, Daphne? Does it hurt? Your face – your leg?"

"I think the painkillers are working just fine."

"Daphne, you have no idea how sorry I am about-"

"Dr. Crane, it was an accident!"

"But it-" Daphne held up her hand to stop him. Grasping at any straw to postpone the talk that might take her away from him forever, he closed his mouth and stayed quiet. He knew he couldn't keep this from her forever.

"I had the strangest dream, Dr. Crane." She seemed genuinely excited. Her eyes sparkled with joy – or from the effects of the drugs. Whatever the reason, she was happy and it was partly because there was something she wanted to tell him. Him, Niles! For a moment he forgot they were in the hospital; for a moment it didn't seem to matter that he was married and that he had unbearable, indescribable feelings for this woman. Just for this one moment he would enjoy her childlike excitement, because eventually he had to crush it with the truth. How could he ever make her understand what had happened in that car?

"You're going to think I'm crazy."

"I would never think anything like that."

"The dream was about us," Niles gasped, interrupting her.

"Yes. You see, I dreamt that you and I – you really are going to think I'm crazy – we were married and I was pregnant. Can you imagine!" Niles could imagine it way too well; he figured it was a rhetorical question and bit his tongue. She stared straight ahead as if she were seeing her dream as a vision on that lily white hospital wall.

"The strangest thing, though. In my dream Mrs. Crane was in jail, because she had killed her boyfriend. I must have hit me head pretty hard to have dreamed something like that." Niles registered Daphne's smile as a blurry picture. His mind was trying to catch up with the words she'd just spoken, because he was clinging to the thought of her having dreamt of him. As her husband. Expecting a child. His mind couldn't put it together properly.

"The dream was about us." He repeated.

"Yes," Daphne replied slowly, "Did you hit your head too?"

"I-I heard what you said. It's just – so surprising that you dreamt about me."

"I figured it was because you were the last person I talked to. But you're the psychiatrist of course." Niles ' cheeks colored; she was right. There was a perfect psychological explanation why he had shown up in that dream of hers. And it had nothing to do with hidden feelings.

"It might have been a vision, not a dream." Daphne mused and it took Niles a moment to understand what she was really saying.

"You mean-"

"It's silly, I know. I shouldn't have told you."

"No, Daphne, I'm glad you did. I feel flattered actually. That I sneaked into your dream, I mean. I thought if you were to dream of someone… it'd be Frasier."

"Why would I dream about Dr. Crane?" Niles chuckled seeing her disgusted face. He finally had his answer too: she didn't love Frasier. Not in a romantic way anyway. Now if only he knew what she felt for him…

"Dr. Crane is like one of me brothers." Daphne interrupted his thoughts. His brain was slow in catching up, but eventually it hit him. If she thought of Frasier like a brother, then she must consider him a sibling as well. He tried to swallow the feelings of sadness. Wasn't he a happily married man? Luckily, Daphne was completely oblivious to the workings of his mind.

"Dr. Crane?" At first Niles thought she was still musing about what she'd just told him about Frasier.

"Dr. Crane?" She asked again and finally he realized she was actually talking to him. When he turned to her, he saw her in a new light. Gone was the cheerfulness; it was replaced with a shade of sorrow that accentuated the injuries on her face. Niles experienced a pain previously unknown to him. It travelled through his whole body and paralyzed him.

"Hm?" He replied with what felt like his last ounce of strength.

"Do you think… do you think your brother will fire me?"

"Of course not! What makes you think that?"

"Well, I can't bloody work, can I?" Angry tears fell from her eyes now and Niles could no longer stay in his bed. The wheelchair stood there in the corner, but he would not use it. His naked feet touched the cold ground and dizziness captured him a tight grip. Niles didn't let it stop him.

"Dr. Crane what are you doing!" Daphne's voice sounded strange; like they were both caught under water. His head couldn't process information, his legs couldn't hold him. Niles knew he wouldn't be able to make it from his bed to Daphne's. He stared straight at her without seeing her and his mouth spoke the words as if this was his last chance ever:

"Daphne, I love you and you'll always have a place in this family."

The jumble of voices in Niles' head turned out to be real. Waking up this time he felt way more focused. He opened his eyes and realized his head didn't hurt as much anymore.

"Look who decided to join us!" His father said jokingly, but relief washed over his face.

"Am I still in the hospital? Where is Daphne?"

"I'm here, Dr. Crane." She waved at him from her bed.

"You tried to get up. What on earth were you thinking?" Leave it to his brother to yell at him when he was hurt in a hospital bed.

"I – Daphne." He looked over at her and she looked away. He tried to remember the last moments before everything had gone black the last time. Niles found he couldn't. It was like looking at a written page where someone had blackened out all the important words.

"Does he think he's Daphne?" His father whispered loudly.

"No, I – Daphne was hurt and I –" Just like that he remembered. He told her loved her!

"You what?" Frasier looked at Daphne, who looked just the same.

"I-I-I."

"Yes, Niles?"

"Leave your brother alone, Frasier. Niles, while you were – well, sleeping – Maris called. She's taking a trip to deal with the shock of your accident." Niles merely nodded. He'd probably heal much faster without his wife around anyway.

"We were thinking you could come live with us for a week or two." Niles looked over at Daphne, whose face was turned towards the window. She looked like she wasn't part of any of this. Like she had said goodbye – and it was all because of him. He could have killed her simply because he couldn't take her eyes off her. He had jeopardized their friendship by telling her that he loved her. Daphne had every right to want this distance she was now creating. Except he remembered more; the conversation before the accident and her fear about losing her job. Niles couldn't undo his actions and his words, but he'd promised her something: he would spend the rest of his life trying to make it up to her. There was no way he was letting her do this now, letting go.

"Daphne? What do you think? Do you think we'd be all right sharing a nurse?" It was the only peace offering he could give her with his brother and father around. She turned to him and the setting sun from outside the window framed her face so beautifully that he gasped. When she smiled softly, he knew everything would turn out just fine.

"We'll be all right."

"That nurse is not going to live with us!" Frasier announced destroying the moment. "You're turning my apartment into a hotel and I don't like it."

"Oh shut up, Frasier." Martin said and rendered his oldest son speechless. "I gotta go home and walk Eddie. I'm afraid you guys will have to stay here a while longer." He told Niles and Daphne.

"Of course, dad." Niles glanced at Daphne. "We're going to be just fine."

"I'll come see you tomorrow." He promised. "Come on Frasier."

"I'm so sorry, Daphne." Niles said immediately after his brother and father were gone again.

"You scared me. When you fainted and I couldn't do anything. Don't ever do anything like that again."

"That's not what I meant. I'm afraid I said something that I-" Daphne cut him off.

"It doesn't matter. Your brother said he wasn't thinking of firing me. I think your father had something to do with it actually." Niles felt hurt by her saying it didn't matter, but he nodded as cheerfully as he was able to.

"That's great. I'm glad. There's something else I need to tell you, though." Now or never, he decided.

"Dr. Crane, I know you feel responsible for this. As do I. It was simply an accident."

"I don't – I'm not sure that's true, Daphne. You see I was-"

"It was an accident." Daphne demanded and Niles couldn't help but accept it. For now anyway.

"Maybe you're right," he felt happy when he saw Daphne smile proudly, "and I'm tired. If you don't mind, I think I'll sleep some more."

"Oh of course, Dr. Crane. I'm tired meself."

"Good night, Daphne. Despite it being late afternoon."

"Good night, Dr. Crane." Niles turned away from her and let himself be lulled to sleep by the thought of her presence, the sound of her gentle breathing. Before he found himself drifting off, he could have sworn he heard Daphne gently whisper to him:

"And I love you, too, Dr. Crane."

His last thought before it all turned black and deep was that in the end, it would be all right.

**THE END**


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